At Lector, our motto is “elevate the conversation.” The key concepts that separate Lector from regular student blogs or the course-discussion systems on Angel are focus and exposure. Labeled as a virtual book club, Lector is the first of its kind among American universities: a hub for students to talk about the books they read in class, expanding upon discussions from class or making their own observations. Although it operates on WordPress, Lector has its own URL, which gives it strength in terms of branding. Unaffiliated with any particular class or content, Lector has the markings of a strong brand: abstract and broad, yet official. Unlike other student blogs, which can be randomly titled and scattered from subject to subject, Lector’s central home for these comments promotes solidarity and a form of legitimacy: it has all the markings of a professional website, and it seems as though that helps the students take it more seriously. The students who participate in Lector are not assigned topics; they either bring up aspects of the texts that gnaw at them, or respond to others’ comments. Although the students are required to post at least once a week, they post with a zeal that has defied our expectations. Each student produces substantive, worthwhile content each and every week.

We can only “elevate the conversation” if we can affect the conversation–and we can only affect the conversation if we can get our arguments into the hands of the people. Lector’s other great strength comes from the chance of exposure. In my experience, professors have assigned blog-like tasks to be posted on Penn State’s Angel course-management system. Normally, these experiences have not gone so well, due to either problems with the Angel interface or a lack of motivation–what’s the point of posting to a website when no one can see your work? Lector makes sure that students have the opportunity to make comments that the world can see and interact with. Moreover, anyone and everyone are encouraged to contribute in some way, by commenting on the students’ remarks. This feature is currently open to the public, and therefore must be policed by my fellow administrators and myself, but it allows outside parties to contribute to the classroom conversation. Parents and family members have the opportunity to share in their students’ activities; alumnus who miss strong, intellectual conversation can participate; and we’re even trying to get some professionals to weigh in on the discussion (Mr. Gladwell, we’re looking at you!).

If asked to describe Lector in one word, we would say: promise. Lector has promised to accomplish so many things: to elevate the conversation, to provide students with a platform to have their voices heard, to shatter restrictions on intellectual conversation, and to prove to alumni that age-old adage, “you can always come home again” holds true. Right now, Lector is in its infancy. We only cover one reading list for two small sections, but we chose to begin with readings that cover issues with vast contemporary importance. As of the writing, we have over 5,000 hits, a number that greatly exceeds our expectations. Not all of these hits can be from ours students; it shows that people are taking notice. The eyes of the academic world are focused on Penn State to determine the legitimacy of a virtual book club, and it’s up to us to remind the world that books matter. We invite you to check out our website. If you’re familiar with the books we’re discussing, or the topics they’re based upon, feel free to chime in on the students’ remarks. Follow us on twitter (@Lectorbookclub) or “like” us on Facebook (search “Lector: A Virtual Book Club“), and watch as the social network and intellectual network combine.

Welcome to the new frontier in reading.